Sounds too much buggering about, I’ll stick with the old rock n roll extreme.

Never have to clean the chain, other than when hosing the clag off the rest of the bike. Lasts a manky wet West of Scotland ride no probs.

the wax that still is in the rollers and that is slowly oozing out

I think that’s the crux of the matter. It’s only the rollers that need lubricating. Lube anywhere else just acts as a gunk magnet

It’s only the rollers that need lubricating.

And where the sideplates meet?

I must be the only person who tried this and went back to other lubes.

Whilst it was certainly more resistant to winter riding on the Mendips than regular lube, I found in the deepest recesses of winter, I needed to replenish it after a 20 mile ride.

At that frequency I found it too much faff, too anti-social (it really does stink) for not enough benefit. As TJ says, it doesn’t really get on with other lubes, so it sort of limited any top ups with traditional lubes when out riding, which meant it needed degreasing prior to re-dipping.

I also found it made shifting a bit sluggish because, well, it’s a solid at room temperature and below.

Currently running my latest R&D with Wickens & Soderstrum No.5 lube this winter, which seems, for my riding, to be equally good from a regular dropper bottle.

balls. just sunk £40 in the stuff and a fryer.

Hey ho, I’ll give it a bash. Or save it til the finish line wet runs out and use the fryer for chips in the meantime!

So I have a tin, tried it and to be honest was unsure really the benefits outweighed the faff. It’s bloody messy stuff. Albeit not as horrible as a well used wet lube setup. I may give it another go and wife the side of the chain down with a solvent. I ride in the FOD about 3 times a week and I found after a week of winter riding and cleaning it needed another lube. Which is a truck load of hassle. So I went back to wet Lubes.

Will give it another go tonight, but I’m less convinced

Hmm. I hate a claggy chain, so I use wax lube (epic ride or similar) in the summer and finish line wet in the winter. With the wet stuff, I wipe a drop across the sideplate junction, roller and sideplate junction on each link, on the inside of the chain (top of the bottom run of chain. Sounds faffy, but only takes a minute. But it is a bit faffy. And that’s after a hose (every 2nd/3rd ride, probably) compressor to blast the water off and a wipe.

We’ll see how the faff factor compares with the wax.

Albeit not as horrible as a well used wet lube setup.

I don’t have a problem with clagged up wet lube; I squirt bike cleaner on the chain then jetwash it whilst I do the rest of the bike. Gets all the grit out.

I don’t have a problem with clagged up wet lube; I squirt bike cleaner on the chain then jetwash it whilst I do the rest of the bike. Gets all the grit out.

I’ve convinced myself that the faff it worth it because I don’t wash bikes between rides. So an extra 20min lubing the chain once every couple of months is easily made up for by not washing the bike and chain before re-lubing every ride. I just get home, lock the bike in the shed and leave it till the next ride. No cleaning, lubing or tinkering.

What soils do you Putoline users ride on?

Swinley/Crowthorne, Tunnel hill/Farnbrough and the Chilterns. So a mix of sand and loam at the first two and plain old wet mud on the latter.

Can’t really foo that for long where I live. Clay clogs everything up if you get onto some.

nedrapier – if you don’t get on with it I’ll buy it off you no problem.

Thanks TJ, I’ll bear that in mind.

I noticed a few people gave Putoline a go after reading this thread. A few weeks later, how are you getting on?

After this weekends riding conditions, I’m thinking of giving it a go…

Also, how are people splitting 11 speed chains? Are there any reusable 11 speed quicklinks?

I use the £2.70ish ones from Merlin. YBN or something.

I did splash out on a proper bi-directional link tool to stop me firing them off across the kitchen too.

I have a used once tin of putoline if anyone fancies trying it. Its not for me!

Got my first Putoline’d chain drying in the shed, feels like a rite of passage 🙂

For the road bike. Was using Fenwicks stealth on the training bike which has been good but one wet ride and it needs re-doing. Hoping Putoline will stick around a bit longer. Just a tin and a hot plate here, it’s not been much faff so far.

A couple of rides in with the putoline and it makes for a lovely smooth drivetrain. Now lets see how long it lasts when it gets grotty out there.

In the meantime I’ve done the XC, CX and turbo bikes 🙂 Quite a nice process, though need to remember that the oil is bloody hot when you get the chain out.

Anyone seen any data as to how it compares to stuff like Squirt in terms of efficiency?

I’m wondering about using it, local alkaline sandy muck drinks chain lube.

What do you use to degrease the chain before dipping it in the wax? Would shaking it up in a jam jar of petrol risk damaging the chain in some way?

It wouldn’t damage it.
But ffs, make sure the chain is bone dry after it, before you heat it up in hot wax, petrol can be surprisingly volatile eh.

Jam jar with white spirit / petrol is fine. Just make sure its evaporated off before you put it in the hot oil!

*beaten to it!*

Giant paper clip and some string makes pulling the chain out really easy!

Ha! Still got my tub, unopened since I bougt off the back off this thread first time round.

Still got plenty of wet lube left, but I might order another fryer (mine got sent back from the collection place when I didn’t collect it quickly enough) and do all the bikes over Christmas break.

Or I might not. We’ll see.

What do you use to degrease the chain before dipping it in the wax?

Nothing – just bang it in and swish it around.

What do you use to degrease the chain before dipping it in the wax?

Usually shake it in a pot of white spirits, then give it a quick wash, then pop it in the oven to dry. But with putoline i’m tempted just to pop it straight in the oil (if i had the chip fryer with basket I probably would.)

Giant paper clip and some string makes pulling the chain out really easy!

Used an old brake cable inner threaded through the chain.

I slosh mine around in paraffin, not so much for hte chain’s sake as the rest of the wax, I don’t want it mixed up with other stuff or full of dirt.

My tin is now almost at an end, Barely enough wax left in the tin to cover a chain and what there is is full of grit 🙂 Its lasted me years tho and I haven’t used anything else on the chains for that time

Really must stop sitting in the fence and giving this a go. Normal lube just doesn’t last here and shifting turns to crap quickly.

Fancy giving this a go. Any of the unconvinced want to offload their tin of Putoline before I go buy a new one?

Realistically,how many gritty wet nasty 20mile rides does one hot waxy dunk last?

scruff – Member

Realistically,how many gritty wet nasty 20mile rides does one hot waxy dunk last?

Depends on the exact conditions- I’ve sometimes redone it after a single race weekend, of really intrusive innerleithen clogged mechs death, or kinlochleven mud-powerwasher-riding-down-rivers. Generally I expect it to do maybe 4 or 5 orrible rides. I sometimes top it up with a liquid lube just to keep things sweet and prevent rust (which is the putoline’s main failing, it lubes the bits that need lubed but it doesn’t have a lot of rust protection for the plates etc)

And writing that down, it doesn’t sound that great but with other lubes, I’ve sometimes ended up washing the bike in a river halfway through a single ride or carrying some lube to top up, or just suffered failing performance so 2 days of pain free motoring is a lot better.

I sometimes top it up with a liquid lube just to keep things sweet and prevent rust (which is the putoline’s main failing, it lubes the bits that need lubed but it doesn’t have a lot of rust protection for the plates etc)

That seems like a pretty serious flaw in the plan to me. If you end up adding lube anyway, surely it negates a lot of the benefits? OK, so you’ve still got a nice smooth-running internally-lubed chain, but you have to put lube on the outside to stop it rusting, which then attracts mud, etc. and turns to a dirty greasy mess?

That’s a lot less than I expected. My current lube is Muc-off wet. I take a wee dropper bottle with me so I can apply some if I need to on a daily basis. But that typical day could be 50 miles or more of mud, rivers, peat bogs, beaches and dusty fire roads.

Having acquired a motorbike I was considering opting for Putoline for the push bikes but it doesn’t seem worth the hassle.

thenorthwind – Member

That seems like a pretty serious flaw in the plan to me. If you end up adding lube anyway, surely it negates a lot of the benefits? OK, so you’ve still got a nice smooth-running internally-lubed chain, but you have to put lube on the outside to stop it rusting, which then attracts mud, etc. and turns to a dirty greasy mess?

Nah, not really. TBH I really don’t know what “attracts mud” means, when you’re knee deep in mud you don’t need to worry about whether you’re attracting it or not, it comes to you anyway… The point of this stuff isn’t that it somehow avoids getting muddy, it just cares much less

The corrosion thing is just for when the chain is still well lubed but the outer plates have had their coating worn off, which takes a few rides- it’s not really an issue for offroad but it does matter if you’re riding on salted roads. Same as other waxes really.

don’t know what “attracts mud” means

I guess what I mean is “retains” mud but

The point of this stuff isn’t that it somehow avoids getting muddy, it just cares much less

I take your point.

Will just have to try it I guess!

PS In case anyone missed it as it ended up last post on the page, if anyone wants rid of a tin of Putoline they’re not getting on with, I’ll buy it off you.

scotroutes, I currently use much off wet. It seems to barely last a 10 mile wet and muddy ride. How do you get 50 miles out of it.

It’s also crap as soon as there is any dust – instant griding paste!

The corrosion thing is just for when the chain is still well lubed but the outer plates have had their coating worn off, which takes a few rides- it’s not really an issue for offroad but it does matter if you’re riding on salted roads.

Not that a bit of corrosion on the outer plates is an issue, it’s just cosmetic.

Well, eventually it gets to be an issue but yeah, I’m really doing it for the cosmetic resaons